As is well known, prosthetic heart valves are used as replacements for diseased natural heart valves. Generally, prosthetic heart valves are divided into two classes, i.e. mechanical valves and tissue valves. One form of mechanical valve employs two leaflets or, more broadly, valve elements, which pivot between open and closed positions. One problem with valves of this type is that the pivotal movement of the valve elements can be impeded by tissue near the orifice in which the valve is implanted.
One way to solve this problem is to employ a rotatable heart valve. A rotatable heart valve includes a frame attachable to tissue around the orifice, a rotor mounted on the frame for rotation and one or more valve elements carried by the rotor and movable with respect to the rotor to open and close the heart valve. The frame includes a suture ring, and to implant a valve of this type, the surgeon sutures the suture ring in the desired position within the heart. Next, the valve elements are manipulated to ascertain if their movement is impeded in any way. If movement of the valve elements is impeded, the surgeon rotates the rotor with respect to the frame to a new angular position in which the adjacent tissue does not impede the pivotal movement of the valve elements.
This technique is very satisfactory in reducing the likelihood that tissue will impede the pivotal movement of the valve elements. However, some difficulty has been encountered with the implement used to rotate the rotatable valve. For example, the implement disclosed in Martin U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,883 is designed to function as both a valve holder and valve rotator. Although satisfactory for some desired to drivingly engage the rotator with the rotatable valve particularly when the surgeon is working in regions not readily visible or at difficult angles. Furthermore, once the rotator does drivingly engage the heart valve, it is not as easy as desired to maintain this engagement during rotation of the valve. These factors are significant because it is important that the valve be rotated quickly and accurately to minimize the time required for this portion of the surgery and to assure accurate rotational positioning of the valve. In addition, in order to maintain the engagement desired, additional force may be applied to the rotator and hence to the heart valve, and this is also undesirable. Finally, some prior art valve rotators interfere with the pivotal movement of the valve elements, and this is undesirable because it inhibits the testing of the valve elements to assure that they can move freely between the closed and fully opened positions.